Who's right when it comes to the flag shoe—Nike, Colin Kaepernick or the Arizona governor?
who was on the verge of celebrating 500 Nike manufacturing jobs coming to Arizona, complained on Twitter that,".” He went onto say that he was rescinding all financial incentives that he had offered to Nike to entice them to create jobs in Arizona. That one tweet got several GOP leaders including Senator Ted Cruz behind his message. So who is right over here and what happens next?
I’m going to cut to the chase. Everyone is in the wrong here. Yes, everyone. Nike should not have launched that sneaker without understanding what the flag could represent to some people. It doesn’t take much research to discover that the flag has beenand more so has been adopted by far-right groups to peddle extremist and racist views. It has become a symbol of hatred for some. Kaepernick too made a mistake. He should have explained his criticism publicly and more carefully.
So where does this leave us? Is this another culture war skirmish that takes us further away from each other? A skirmish that makes companies even more skittish about having a clear brand purpose and participating in culture? Is this a moment that further cements the view that leadership means having to take extreme stands and stoking the passions of your most ardent supporters? I certainly hope not.
We are in a unique, momentous and dangerous time. It is not enough to retreat to the safety of serving people who only agree with our views. That’s a sign of moral decay in society. It is time we started having more nuanced, civil and respectful dialogue that unpacks issues thoughtfully. It is also important that we speak with the facts transparently and not through proxies, retweets, generalizations or cryptic Instagram posts.
Nike made a mistake. As did Kaepernick and Governor Doug Ducey. Making mistakes is part of life. Here’s to hoping that they’ll use this moment as an opportunity to raise the level of discourse in the country versus rushing to point fingers at each other. To drive change, it is going to take everyone being open to listening to and understanding the other side. Embracing the other versus alienating them needs to be the new mantra.
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